Last weekend, the Rinaldi Racing Team travelled to the Hungaroring, Budapest for the fourth round of the Blancpain Sprint Series.

The green and yellow Ferrari 488 GT3 with start number 333 was among them, while Alexander Mattschull and Daniel Keilwitz started in the ProAm class. The programme also included the next round of the Blancpain GT Sports Club, with Christian Hook piloting the Ferrari 458 GT3.

Rinaldi Racing came to Budapest with a few points lead in the ProAm class. The goal was clearly defined: to take home as many points for the championship as possible. Already on Friday in the two free practice sessions, the Ferrari could show what it can do on the track. The final result was a fifth overall place and a third overall place with not even nine-hundredths of a second behind the leader.

In the third qualifying session, however, things got much tighter – the gap between first place and the car in 15th place was not even one second. Alexander Mattschull and Daniel Keilwitz finished second in the ProAm class and 13th overall.

On Saturday afternoon Daniel Keilwitz started into the qualifying race at sunny 35 degrees. A great effort for man and machine. Keilwitz was able to keep his second place in class. The team waited until the end of the pit stop window to bring the Ferrari in. Everything went perfectly with the change to Alexander Mattschull so that he came onto the track almost directly behind the leader in the ProAm class. Thanks to a great overtaking manoeuvre in the further course of the race, Mattschull was able to claim the lead in the class for himself. He kept this position until the end of the race and thus secured the top spot on the podium.

On Sunday, the race continued with the main race. Here, too, the heat was clearly noticeable. Mattschull took the start in the Ferrari. Right next to him on the grid was his direct rival in the ProAm class. Already in the first corner at the start, both cars were eye-to-eye, but Mattschull had to relinquish his lead. But just a few corners later Mattschull regained his lead. Even after the following safety car phase, he was able to convince at the restart. At the pit stop, things got tight again: Mattschull and his pursuer were almost on time for their change. Thanks to a very quick stop, Keilwitz was able to stay just ahead of the runner-up in the ProAm class. From then on, a nerve-wracking race began. Both drivers were almost identical in their lap times and left no room for error. Keilwitz crossed the finish line in first place in class, making the race weekend perfect for Rinaldi Racing.

Michele Rinaldi: “This was a very important weekend for us. The two wins were a must to extend the lead in the ProAm class. The drivers put in a great performance. The guys made another quick pit stop, not easy when there is so much at stake. Now we are preparing for the Sprint Final at the Nürburgring. There, of course, we hope to close the bag.”

In the Blancpain GT Sports Club, Christian Hook was able to show very good lap times in both races. Already on Saturday evening in the qualifying race, he got off to a good start. Especially from the middle of the race, he became faster and faster and thus achieved a good eighth place. Also on Sunday in the main race, he could show good fights in the green-black Ferrari 458 GT3. In the end, he retained his eighth place and can thus look back on a very solid performance.